Insurgents Kill Iraqi Academic, Kidnap Coaches for Blind Athletes
02 November 2006
Iraqi officials say insurgents have shot dead a leading academic and kidnapped two sports coaches for disabled athletes in the latest attacks in Baghdad.
Police say gunmen killed the dean of Baghdad University's school of Economics and Administration, Jassim al-Asadi, as he was driving his car this Thursday morning. His wife and son were also killed.
Separately, gunmen stormed a gym for blind athletes during a training session in central Baghdad and abducted two Sunni handball coaches, one of whom is blind.
There were several other attacks around the capital, including one that left three police officers dead at a checkpoint.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military said a coalition air strike killed a local leader of the al-Qaida in Iraq militant group in the western town of Ramadi.
A military statement said a laser-guided bomb destroyed a car carrying Rafa Abdul Salam Hamud al-Ithawi and his driver on Wednesday, killing both men.
The statement says the militant, also known as Abu Taha, was the ruler of a self-proclaimed emirate in the Ramadi area. Militants loyal to Abu Taha declared the region independent last month in a parade through central Ramadi.
U.S.-led forces have been fighting since then to take back control of the city.
Separately, an American soldier was killed Wednesday when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb west of Baghdad. The soldier's death is the first reported fatality among American troops in Iraq this month.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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